VOL. 53, NO. 40 • JULY 19 - 25, 2018
From R&B Blues Fest to Annual Summer Spirit, ‘Let the Music Play’
Bowser’s First Veto Perturbs D.C. Students
Teens Face Lack of Summer Jobs - Page 17
Major League Baseball All-Star festivities
Is Metro Strike Imminent?
By Sam P.K. Collins WI Contributing Writer @SamPKCollins
Walkout Could Cripple the DMV
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) exercised her control over D.C. public schools late last week with her first-ever veto, shooting down emergency legislation that would allow students who didn’t meet attendance requirements this school year to advance to the next level if they fulfilled other criteria. Last month, the D.C. Council overwhelmingly passed the School Promotion and Graduation Fairness Emergency Act, introduced by council members David Grosso (I-At Large), chair of the council’s education committee, and Robert White (D-At Large). All coun-
By William J. Ford WI Staff Writer @jabariwill
VETO Page 29
A pregame ceremony is held for the Major League Baseball All-Star Game at Nationals Park in Washington on July 17, 2018. /Photo by Kyodo News via Getty Images - For the full story go to page 34.
Residents, Activists Embrace Community Control over Police By Sam P.K. Collins WI Contributing Writer @SamPKCollins
5 D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser /Photo courtesy of the Mayor’s Office
In what has been a recurring cycle, a slew of gun-related violence in D.C. and subsequent conversations about public safety have spurred calls from residents and council members alike to flood the most affected communities with police officers and confiscate as many firearms as possible. Long before that strategy proved controversial in a June stop-and-frisk scandal involving the Metropolitan Police Department’s (MPD) gun-recovery unit, some residents and activists
have pushed against the prevailing school of thought, organizing around legislation that provides resources for residents in place of arrest and prosecution. Years after the passage of a bill that would’ve facilitated such a process, MPD and D.C. Mayor Bowser’s responses to inquiries about implementation haven’t been to the liking of local activists, community leaders and disillusioned residents. Lately, what’s been described as their lack of transparency has inspired more radical thoughts about police-community relations. “It’s been very interesting to
POLICE Page 22
Metro’s largest union may soon authorize a strike due to what its officials describe as constant disrespect toward workers by the agency CEO and General Manager Paul Wiedefeld. Although union leaders agreed to meet with Wiedefeld’s designees Tuesday, July 17, a statement released Monday, July 16 laid out their feelings toward Wiedefeld and his failure to adhere to a collective bargaining agreement particularly in light of the fact that their contract expired in 2016, followed by binding arbitration ordered last year. “For the past two years, ATU Local 689 has come to the WMATA board demonstrating to them the many ways Metro’s General Manager Paul Wiedefeld – the man that they hired – has been pissing on the collective bargaining agreement [CBA] between ATU Local 689 and WMATA and they still don’t get it,” according to the statement. “It is time for him to take responsibility for his failure to hold up his end of the agreement and stop blaming his workers for the incompetence of him and his team.” The union said about 94 percent of its 6,000 members voted Sunday, July 15 to allow union leadership to authorize a strike against Metro, also known as the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Author-
STRIKE Page 30
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